Chelsea on The Rise: EPL Power Rankings After Transfer Deadline (With Video)

Chelsea on The Rise: EPL Power Rankings After Transfer Deadline (With Video)

Fernando Torres moving to Chelsea was the highlight of the Transfer deadline but it wasn't the only big move made in the Transfer Window. Liverpool used the 50Million they received for Torres to help pay for new star signings Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll. Other Teams also made deals that will be explained in this article. Any time star strikers switch teams, the EPL TItle race is bound to get shaked up a bit and that definitely happened with the January Transfer Moves this year.

The two teams at the top of the table, United and Arsenal, didn't make any major changes this transfer window and it was for the best. City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham all had pretty big changes and it will reflect in their upcoming results. With all these transfers in mind, heres a look at the Top 5 Contenders to win the Premiership this year.

1. Manchester United.

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Record: 14 Wins, 9 Draws, 0 Losses. 54 Pts. (1st in EPL)

Winter Transfers: Danish goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard from Aalesund.

Next 3 Matches: @Wolves, VS Man City, @Wigan.

Injuries: Michael Carrick (Ankle/foot), Valencia (Ankle/foot).

Previous Match: 3-1 Win over Aston Villa.

Points Clear: +5

Streak: United haven't lost in any competition since November 30th when they lost a Carling Cup Quarter Final to West Ham. That is there only loss of the season.

Manchester United did not make any big moves at the deadline and that was a good decision. They have played well of late and there is no reason to mess with a good system. When a team is consistently getting wins and draws, it is hard to gain ground on them. That will be the difference for United this year as Arsenal and the other contenders will not makeup points easily if Manchester keep getting draws when other teams might usually pick up a loss here or there. Ferdinand, Rafael, Van Der Sar, Vidic and Evra all returned this week and the team as a whole is in relatively good health. United won 3-1 over Aston Villa today and to make it even better Wayne Rooney scored two goals. If Rooney can get back to the form we know he's capable of United will run away with the Title. Right now they are the clear-cut favorites to win it all.

Arsenal also did not make many moves either and they are starting to hit top form so there is no need to make any changes. The injury to Nasri is going to hurt as he may be out for another three weeks. Arsenals upcoming schedule is pretty easy so they may be able to make some ground on the leaders before they play United on April 30th. Arsenal have the most wins in the EPL this year. Arshavin and Kolscieny scored in a 2-1 win over Everton tonight. If Nasri can get back healthy and Arshavin can get back to top form; Arsenal may contend for the title.

3. Chelsea

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Record: 12 Wins, 5 Draws, 6 Losses. 44 Pts. (4th in EPL)

Winter Transfers: Brazilian defender David Luiz from Benfica Lisbon for a fee of 20million; Spanish forward Fernando Torres from Liverpool for a fee of 50million.

Next 3 Matches: VSNewcastle, @Fulham, VS Birmingham.

Injuries: Zhirkov (Calf), Benayoun (Achilles)

Previous Match: 4-2 Win over Sunderland.

Points Clear: -10

Streak: Chelsea have won or drawn their last 4 matches.

Chelsea are now just one point back of Manchester City but are still 10 back of United. It will take a miraculous run for Chelsea to win the Premiership and it is highly unlikely. New superstar signing Fernando Torres will either be used in a 4-4-2 with Drogba or a 4-3-3 with Drogba and Anelka. Either way, if he can regain his World-Class form from a few years ago, Chelsea will start storming up the table, just maybe not enough to catch Manchester United. New Signing Luiz was a bargain as he is a young defender who could contribute to the lineup in weeks to come. Chelsea don't have many injuries and there next 3 matches are not too difficult so they may be able to crack into the top 3 in the EPL sooner than people think. They had a convincing 4-2 win over Sunderland tonight in which Lampard, Kalou, Terry and Anelka all scored.

4. Manchester City

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Record: 13 Wins, 6 Draws, 5 Losses. 45 Pts. (3rd in EPL)

Winter Transfers: Bosnia-Herzegovnian forward Edin Dzeko from Wolfsburg for a fee of 27million; Israeli midfielder Gai Assulin on a free transfer from Barcelona.

I had to put Man. City behind Chelsea because of the potential the Torres move has and the fact that experienced sides like Chelsea usually pick up the performance late in the season. Tevez is doubtful for tonights match @Birmingham and they do have some injury concerns. Johnson is not expected back until April and Balotelli will most likely be out a few more weeks. New transfer Dzeko will defintely give a boost to their attack and he already scored in his first match with the club. A win at Old Trafford in the upcoming derby could be make or break for this side. Man. City have a talented squad and there is definitely a chance that they could be within a win or two of United at the end of the season.

5. Tottenham Hotspur

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Record: 10 Wins, 8 Draws, 5 Losses. 38 Pts. (5th in EPL)

Winter Transfers: South African midfielder Steven Pienaar from Everton for a fee of 2.5millon; South African defender Bongani Khumalo from SuperSport United for a fee of 1.3million.

Tottenham got the deal of the deadline this transfer window, getting talented midfielder Steven Pienaar for less than 3 Million. They have a massive deficit to make up if they want to win the Premiership this year; and barring a miracle, they will not. Gareth Bale will be back soon and there is still a chance that Tottenham could get a spot for the Champions League if they can get up to 4th in the Table. Their next 3 matches are relatively easy. They travel to Blackburn for their EPL clash tonight.